Jaws of the Dragon
by Daughter of Inis
Summary: Anything else Eowyn would have faced with courage, but she could not face Grima... rated T for teeny bit of language


EOWYN

She moved gracefully across the stone hall, steps sure and steady, glancing over her shoulder from time to time, not seeing where he hid, but knowing he was about. Her heart cowered in her throat with fear, but she refused to let it show, knowing he too pleasure in fear. Suddenly he appeared in front of her, hungry hands reaching, lustful eyes coveting.

"Eowyn." He gasped, trying to draw her in with a clammy hand, She panicked, and lashed at him wildly until her fist landed a punch on his eye and he shrank back. "How dare you!" He hissed, she slapped him again and took off running down the hall. She heard his footsteps behind her, and her fear gave her feet wings. She reached her room and threw herself in, slamming the door and drawing the bolt. The thud of his body hit the door half a second later. He swore an awful oath and then vanished. All was silent. Eowyn stood in the middle of the chamber, to frightened to move. Sweat poured from her forehead and her breath came in short gasps, her heart raced. Stunned, she fell onto the bed and grasped the coverlet tightly. She curled herself into a ball and lay huddled there, sobbing into a pillow. She was alone, utterly alone, and there was no one to hear her cry.

GRIMA

So close. He had been so close. A few more minutes and he could have had her, Skittish little bird that she was. The touch of her warm waist to his cold hand came flooding back to him and he laughed wickedly. But then he saw the blue and purple bruises beginning to form around his swollen eye. He scowled at himself in the mirror. How could she not love him? He loved her, or at least, he thought he did. Boyish fancy had turned to lust and now that lust was consuming him, his whole being, and his life. He wanted her, he had to have her, his only focus was to get a hold of her and keep her as his, even if it meant his own ruin.

EOWYN

Her tears stopped, and she splashed water on her face from the washbasin. She took a few deep breaths, trying to regain her composure. She was a sheildmaiden, not some whimpering girl. But he transformed her into that weak girl. Nothing had frightened her before him. Not storms, death, or blood had caused her fear, but his lust did. The summer she turned fifteen, he began his stalking. Her youthful mind had dismissed it as a game, but soon it turned to be not so. Realization set in, along with the cold winter of that year. He was everywhere, turning up in every shadow and behind every corner. She had spoken to Eomer, though only 17 he vowed to protect her, and had faithfully, but now he was not here. How could she survive on her own? Anything else she would have faced with steel resolve, but she could not face Grima.

GRIMA

He knew not how he was to explain his black eye to the court, but he soon concocted the story of running into a wall in the night. His tale was bought and he turned his focus back to Eowyn. She had become wary and stayed locked in her chamber, not coming out for anything but food. She occasionally let her lady's maids in, but not often. She would have to come out sometime he told himself, she couldn't stay in there forever. Barely anyone had seen her in nearly a month. He had tried to speak to her ladies maid, but the woman refused to talk to him and ignored his bribes for money. As he tried one last attempt, another maid had appeared and dragged the other off, shouting curses at him. He had them both dismissed. Now that he practically ran the kingdom, he had surmised he could have anything he wanted, but the one thing he did truly want, was out of his reach, behind closed doors, locked away.

EOWYN

The incident played over and over in her mind. He stalked her dreams, hunted her ever-waking thought. She prayed for help, begging for guidance and courage, but none seemed to come. Her ladies maid had been dismissed, dear Lothwyn had been her only friend, and now she was gone. She felt betrayed and ignored. She knew he had ordered it, but at least Lothwyn had kept her vow not to speak to him. Bless the dear woman. She filled her days with reading, trying to keep all thoughts of him from her mind. But she dreaded the nights, she read furiously at night, staving off sleep as long as possible, dreading the darkness that surrounded her. She slept with candles lit, and a dagger under her pillow, she knew she would not hesitate to use it if the need ever arose. She knew not how long she could go on like this, and prayed that her brother would return soon.

GRIMA

He cursed, he swore, oath after oath fallowed. The Marshall had returned. He was supposed to be dead! Now the prince was dead instead of Eomer! Curse the bastard!

EOWYN

Her beloved brother had come. She had been saved from the jaws of the dragon. But the dragon had slain her cousin, and this destroyed any sliver of joy that may have had the courage to rise in her heart.


End file.
